John 2:4

2:4 Jesus replied, ¹  “Woman, ²  why are you saying this to me? ³  My time ⁴  has not yet come.”

John 2:18

2:18 So then the Jewish leaders ⁵  responded, ⁶  “What sign can you show us, since you are doing these things?” ⁷ 

John 5:12

5:12 They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Pick up your mat ⁸  and walk’?” ⁹ 

John 6:68

6:68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life.

John 8:5

8:5 In the law Moses commanded us to stone to death ¹⁰  such women. ¹¹  What then do you say?”

John 8:43

8:43 Why don’t you understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot accept ¹²  my teaching. ¹³ 

John 10:20

10:20 Many of them were saying, “He is possessed by a demon and has lost his mind! ¹⁴  Why do you listen to him?”

John 13:24-25

13:24 So Simon Peter ¹⁵  gestured to this disciple ¹⁶  to ask Jesus ¹⁷  who it was he was referring to. ¹⁸  13:25 Then the disciple whom Jesus loved ¹⁹  leaned back against Jesus’ chest and asked him, “Lord, who is it?”

John 18:4

18:4 Then Jesus, because he knew everything that was going to happen to him, ²⁰  came and asked them, “Who are you looking for?” ²¹ 

John 18:23

18:23 Jesus replied, ²²  “If I have said something wrong, ²³  confirm ²⁴  what is wrong. ²⁵  But if I spoke correctly, why strike me?”

John 18:29

18:29 So Pilate came outside to them and said, “What accusation ²⁶  do you bring against this man?” ²⁷ 

[2:4]  ¹ tn Grk “and Jesus said to her.”

[2:4]  ² sn The term Woman is Jesus’ normal, polite way of addressing women (Matt 15:28, Luke 13:12; John 4:21; 8:10; 19:26; 20:15). But it is unusual for a son to address his mother with this term. The custom in both Hebrew (or Aramaic) and Greek would be for a son to use a qualifying adjective or title. Is there significance in Jesus’ use here? It probably indicates that a new relationship existed between Jesus and his mother once he had embarked on his public ministry. He was no longer or primarily only her son, but the “Son of Man.” This is also suggested by the use of the same term in 19:26 in the scene at the cross, where the beloved disciple is “given” to Mary as her “new” son.

[2:4]  ³ tn Grk “Woman, what to me and to you?” (an idiom). The phrase τί ἐμοὶ καὶ σοί, γύναι (ti emoi kai soi, gunai) is Semitic in origin. The equivalent Hebrew expression in the Old Testament had two basic meanings: (1) When one person was unjustly bothering another, the injured party could say “What to me and to you?” meaning, “What have I done to you that you should do this to me?” (Judg 11:12, 2 Chr 35:21, 1 Kgs 17:18). (2) When someone was asked to get involved in a matter he felt was no business of his, he could say to the one asking him, “What to me and to you?” meaning, “That is your business, how am I involved?” (2 Kgs 3:13, Hos 14:8). Option (1) implies hostility, while option (2) implies merely disengagement. Mere disengagement is almost certainly to be understood here as better fitting the context (although some of the Greek Fathers took the remark as a rebuke to Mary, such a rebuke is unlikely).

[2:4]  ⁴ tn Grk “my hour” (referring to the time of Jesus’ crucifixion and return to the Father).

[2:18]  ⁵ tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” In NT usage the term ᾿Ιουδαῖοι (Ioudaioi) may refer to the entire Jewish people, the residents of Jerusalem and surrounding territory, the authorities in Jerusalem, or merely those who were hostile to Jesus. Here the author refers to the authorities or leaders in Jerusalem. (For further information see R. G. Bratcher, “‘The Jews’ in the Gospel of John,” BT 26 [1975]: 401-9.)

[2:18]  ⁶ tn Grk “answered and said to him.”

[2:18]  ⁷ sn The request “What sign can you show us” by Jesus’ adversaries was a request for a defense of his actions – a mark of divine authentication. Whether this was a request for a miracle is not entirely clear. Jesus never obliged such a request. Yet, ironically, the only sign the Jewish leadership will get is that predicted by Jesus in 2:19 – his crucifixion and resurrection. Cf. the “sign of Jonah” in the synoptics (Matt 12:39, 40; Luke 11:29-32).

[5:12]  ⁹ tc While a number of mss, especially the later ones (A^c C³ D Θ Ψ Ë^1,13 33 Ï latt sy), include the words τον κραβ(β)ατ(τ)ον σου (ton krab(b)at(t)on sou, “your mat”) here, the earliest and best (Ì^66,75 א B C* L) do not. Nevertheless, in the translation, it is necessary to supply the words due to the demands of English style, which does not typically allow for understood or implied direct objects as Greek does.

[5:12]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “Pick up and walk”; the object (the mat) is implied but not repeated.

[8:5]  ¹³ sn An allusion to Lev 20:10 and Deut 22:22-24.

[8:5]  ¹⁴ sn The accusers themselves subtly misrepresented the law. The Mosaic law stated that in the case of adultery, both the man and woman must be put to death (Lev 20:10, Deut 22:22), but they mentioned only such women.

[8:43]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “you cannot hear,” but this is not a reference to deafness, but rather hearing in the sense of listening to something and responding to it.

[8:43]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “my word.”

[10:20]  ²¹ tn Or “is insane.” To translate simply “he is mad” (so KJV, ASV, RSV; “raving mad” NIV) could give the impression that Jesus was angry, while the actual charge was madness or insanity.

[13:24]  ²⁵ sn It is not clear where Simon Peter was seated. If he were on Jesus’ other side, it is difficult to see why he would not have asked the question himself. It would also have been difficult to beckon to the beloved disciple, on Jesus’ right, from such a position. So apparently Peter was seated somewhere else. It is entirely possible that Judas was seated to Jesus’ left. Matt 26:25 seems to indicate that Jesus could speak to him without being overheard by the rest of the group. Judas is evidently in a position where Jesus can hand him the morsel of food (13:26).

[13:24]  ²⁶ tn Grk “to this one”; the referent (the beloved disciple) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:24]  ²⁷ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:24]  ²⁸ sn That is, who would betray him (v. 21).

[13:25]  ²⁹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the disciple Jesus loved) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:4]  ³³ tn Grk “knowing all things that were coming upon him.”

[18:4]  ³⁴ tn Grk “Whom do you seek?”

[18:23]  ³⁷ tn Grk “Jesus answered him.”

[18:23]  ³⁸ tn Or “something incorrect.”

[18:23]  ³⁹ tn Grk “testify.”

[18:23]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “incorrect.”

[18:29]  ⁴¹ tn Or “charge.”

[18:29]  ⁴² sn In light of the fact that Pilate had cooperated with them in Jesus’ arrest by providing Roman soldiers, the Jewish authorities were probably expecting Pilate to grant them permission to carry out their sentence on Jesus without resistance (the Jews were not permitted to exercise capital punishment under the Roman occupation without official Roman permission, cf. v. 31). They must have been taken somewhat by surprise by Pilate’s question “What accusation do you bring against this man,” because it indicated that he was going to try the prisoner himself. Thus Pilate was regarding the trial before Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin as only an inquiry and their decision as merely an accusation.